


Falling Apart so We Can be Closer

by khgirl153



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A Little Bit of Humor, Confrontations, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, but still somehow angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-08 00:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5476388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khgirl153/pseuds/khgirl153
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post reveal. Adrien is desperate to talk to Marinette. Marinette is desperate to avoid Adrien. Even if it means throwing Chloe into the mayhem (literally).</p>
<p>And this is just the beginning for our crisscrossed cat and bug.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Talk to Me!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I had originally put this under my tumblr account and then I saw how great a site this is in order to put stories up so I thought "Why not?" Anyhoo I hope you guys enjoy this!

In a perfect world, when Adrien and Marinette had found out each other’s identities, there would have been wide smiles and bright eyes at the revelation that the ones they have pined for after so long of running after each other was right in front of them. Also, in a perfect world, Adrien and Marinette would be a happy, sickeningly sweet couple that could have rivaled that of Lysander and Hermia. They would probably even be arranging to meet each other’s parents and begin thinking about a happy and bright future together.

“Marinette! Wait! Stop!”

Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world.

“Marinette! We have to talk about this!”

Earlier that morning, Marinette had a plan all mapped out. First, she would arrive at school 20 minutes earlier than usual. That way, she wouldn’t run into Adrien, who usually arrived 15 minutes before the first bell. Then, when she got to the school, she would hide out in the classroom and duck under the large desk by her seat so that no one would approach her before the bell rang. During the lessons, Marinette would make herself focus and not pay attention to a certain guy in front of her. For lunch, she would have to be tricky. First, she would cling to Alya and keep an eye out in case that certain guy decided to try and join them. If he did, she would play along until they got a restroom or empty classroom and escape out through a back door or window. Or maybe she should just play sick for the rest of the day. It was a Friday anyway so she could stay holed up for the weekend and make a new plan for next week. She knew his schedule so it shouldn’t be too hard.

But now that leaves patrol. Which she can’t exactly avoid without risking the safety of Paris.

She had just begun texting Alya as she grabbed a baguette and stuffed it in her mouth.

Marinette:  
“Go ahead and get to school without me. I’ll meet you there.”

Alya:  
“What’s going on girl? Are you okay? :o”

Marinette:  
“I’m fine. ^^ I just have an early morning delivery on the way to school.”

Alya:  
“I’ll tell Adrien you said hi. ;)”

“Please don’t.” Marinette mumbled, finishing off the last piece of her baguette. She felt bad about lying to her best friend (again), but there were some things that couldn’t be talked about right now.

What was she supposed to say anyway? 

“Hey! Guess what?! No big deal, but it turns out that Adrien and I have been fighting side by side as Ladybug and Chat Noir! And I am freaking out because it wasn’t supposed to happen but it did and I don’t know what to do about it and I don’t know how to face Adrien and this is so weird it’s like I don’t know him at all and-“

Marinette shook her head as her inner rambling grew crazier which each step she took towards school. If she’s not careful, she’s going to run into –

“Marinette!”

Cue the first stroke of bad luck.

She turned to look at Adrien, who must have decided to come to school earlier than usual today too. Just like always, Marinette’s heart sputtered when his bright green eyes settled on her and his smile was enough to send her pulse going sky high. When Adrien slammed the limo door shut and ran towards her, Marinette had almost forgotten her predicament and had begun to wave shyly with a goofy smile.

But a certain little black kwami had poked his head out of Adrien’s bag and gave her a toothy grin and wave. A reminder of who exactly was approaching her.

Cue the second stroke of bad luck.

Marinette snapped to attention and she bolted away from the school.

Forget the plans! This is a matter of life and death!

“Marinette! Wait! Stop!” 

Cue the third stroke of bad luck.

Adrien, the one who she had been vying for the past year and a half, was finally chasing her. Adrien, the one who she could only dream of calling out for her with desperate urgency, was finally calling her name as if she was a lifeline. Adrien, who had only really known her with their masks on, finally paid full attention to her without anything holding them back from seeing each other.

In a perfect world, this would have answered all of Marinette’s hopes and dreams of being Adrien’s number one girl. In a perfect world, this would be that defining moment where not even Chloe could hope to battle against her.

But in a perfect world, Ladybug and Chat Noir wouldn’t have been needed and Marinette and Adrien could have been a couple without needing all of this crisscrossed mixed up love drama. But would that have been possible? Would Adrien have even looked at Marinette if she had never been Ladybug? Even if someone else was Ladybug?

“Marinette! Stop! We have to talk about this!”

Marinette wasn’t going to stop though. If anything, she was going to keep running until her feet wore out. Even then she was going to keep running.

“Adrikins!”

Cue the fourth stroke of bad luck. Or was it?

Chloe Bourgeois, Marinette’s longtime rival for Adrien’s affections, has just appeared right in front of her and it looked like she was going to shove Marinette over into some bushes. But before Chloe could lay one perfectly manicured finger on her, Marinette twisted around and shoved Chloe towards the running, sweaty model.

In a perfect world, Marinette would never have to resort to such tactics. In a perfect world, Marinette wouldn’t have to feel her heart wrench when she saw Chloe seize this opportunity and cling to her crush.

But, again, this wasn’t a perfect world.

“Chloe! Stop! I have to talk to Marinette!” Adrien groaned and tried to force some distance away from the vice grip of his old childhood friend. His heart ached when he saw Marinette’s figure grow smaller in the distance until he couldn’t see her anymore.

“Don’t worry about that little nobody.” Chloe cooed as she stroked his hair. “She could have done it more gently, but she’s conceded defeat. She knows that she doesn’t have a chance and she’s finally come to her senses.”

Okay. Forget niceness. This was a matter of love. True love that Adrien would rather die than part with because of something like this.

“You know nothing.” Adrien growled as he expertly ducked out of Chloe’s grip like he did with countless akuma. “If anything, you should be coming to YOUR senses and concede defeat.”

Chloe was so shocked that the thought of grabbing Adrien’s over shirt came too late after he sped towards the running girl, who had taken the long way around towards the school. 

Marinette wanted, more than anything, to avoid the one place where Adrien could find her with ease. But she also didn’t want to risk getting into trouble with the teachers and her parents if they found out that she skipped school because of a teenage love drama.

She arrived before he did, thanks to some quick thinking, shortcuts, and some Ladybug magic. But she was late by 10 minutes and not even the excuse of helping her family with a baking delivery could save her from detention after school. Adrien, who used his own catty abilities to try and catch up with her, arrived only seconds behind her. Guess who was going to spend some time with her after school.

Cue the fifth (?) stroke of bad luck.

In a perfect world, this could have been a great opportunity for Marinette. Even though this was supposed to be a punishment, Marinette could have used this time to get closer to Adrien while praying that she didn’t get her tongue tied. Again.

But, alas, this was not a perfect world.

The rest of the day had gone by as usual. Marinette and Adrien got through their lessons while Nino and Alya, sensing their respective best friend’s tension, gave them some space out of respect. During lunch, Alya was merciful enough to suggest that they eat by themselves and Nino was smart enough to take the hint while dragging a very reluctant Adrien away.

Marinette tried to not pay attention to the fact that Chloe hadn’t come to school while Adrien looked at her, silently begging her to turn around and look at him. It was so ironic that it was almost laughable. But there was no laughing or smiling, even while hanging out with her best friend.

This wasn’t a perfect world after all.

When school ended, Marinette had almost begged Alya to wait for her to come out. But she knew that Alya had to take care of her little siblings that day and she also knew that Alya would drop everything to help Marinette, especially since she’s been so frazzled all day. Marinette couldn’t allow that to happen, so she took a deep mental breath and prepared for her upcoming battle.

They were supposed to meet up in their usual classroom. Adrien was already there, sitting at his front row seat and staring at the doorway like a parched man waiting for water. When they locked eyes for a brief moment, Marinette’s heart stopped and she felt heat behind her eyes as tears almost threatened to spill. The teacher who had been assigned to watch over them instructed her to sit next to Adrien.

Her good luck well must have really dried out.

Marinette did as she was instructed and forced herself to take her seat. She didn’t mean to seem horrible or dislike Adrien, but she couldn’t help but move her chair as far away from him as the desk would allow her.

When Adrien saw her chair position and downward face, his heart cracked and sputtered. He wanted to reach out and hold her, bring her closer, tell her how much he loves her and how sorry he was that he disappointed her for being Chat Noir. He always had a feeling that Marinette didn’t like him too much, since she always seemed to avoid him. But how could he explain himself if he doesn’t do anything?

For right now though, Adrien gave Marinette her space. This was not the right place or time and Marinette was clearly uncomfortable. They will talk after this.

Luck finally seemed to turn around for them. After 20 minutes of cold silence, the teacher had received a phone call and had left the room before telling them that they could leave. Marinette was ready to grab her bag and head out the door without turning back while contemplating the pros and cons of faking pneumonia for the next two weeks. Adrien, however, didn’t miss a beat before grabbing Marinette’s hands and stopping her from packing everything away.

The last time that Adrien had held Marinette’s hands like this, she had won a hat making contest and Adrien was smiling at her, his classmate, barely a friend. Marinette had been elated that her crush, a guy she actually hardly knew, had noticed her.

But here they are now. No masks, no pretenses, and nothing to left to hide. Marinette still wanted to run away. Adrien’s warmth and pleading eyes froze her in her tracks though. How could she deny him now? He was hurting too. It was obvious with the way that he was trying to hold back his own tears and his hands were trembling. If Marinette ran right now, there would be no repairing this. And what would happen when they are Ladybug and Chat Noir? Nothing short of chaos.

They have to talk.

Adrien continued to gently hold Marinette’s hands and fought back the temptation to kiss her knuckles. He wanted to make sure that everything was going to be all right. If they were going to make this right, steps need to be made and they couldn’t afford to mess this up. With the way that the setting sun was making Marinette’s bright blue eyes sparkle and shine while highlighting her adorable freckles though, Adrien was finding it even harder to not kiss her right there. To this brave, kind, and talented girl, there was only one thing he could say to her.

“I’m sorry.”

They were both stunned. They had both apologized at the same time and were looking at each other as tears had finally escaped. Marinette and Adrien, two young teenagers who had been burdened with the duty and honor of protecting Paris while obtaining powers that made them nearly indestructible, have never felt more vulnerable or scared than they did now. The two of them finally broke down and held each other as they crumbled to the classroom floor.

Adrien is missing a photo-shoot and a dress rehearsal for an upcoming fashion show while Marinette’s phone was buzzing with text messages from Alya and her parents, who were wondering where she was. But they didn’t care. In this imperfect world, nothing existed but each other. That was all that mattered right now.

When they had collected themselves enough to lift their heads and look at each other’s red eyes, they knew that it was time. They had to talk to each other. They had to make this work.

The lucky duo turned around to where they leaned against each other’s backs and they entwined their fingers, reminding each other that they weren’t going anywhere.

“Marinette.” Adrien began with dry lips. “Talk to me. Why did you run? You even threw Chloe at me.” He laughed a little. “That was a great distraction move but I don’t think there aren’t going to be consequences later.”

Marinette didn’t laugh with him. Instead, she hung her head and gulped back more tears.

“It’s because I’m stupid.” She mumbled. Adrien craned his head back so that he could hear her soft voice. “It’s…” She tried again, hoping against hope that everything was going to be okay after this. There was no point in hiding anymore so they might as well get everything clear. “I’ve liked you ever since we met. I thought that after spending time with you as Marinette, an ordinary, silly girl, that I had gotten to know you and that you were finally noticing me.” She shook her head and tried to not remove her fingers away from his. “But now…I know that I’m just an idiot.”

Adrien, fighting even more tears, curled his fingers tightly against Marinette’s cold, shaking ones.

“I’m the idiot here.” Adrien began, his throat thick with unshed feelings, feelings that he couldn’t express as a model much less as a son. “I’ve only been focusing on trying to find a dream when you were right in front of me.” He turned around until his cheek touched the back of Marinette’s lowered head. “And if you call yourself ‘ordinary’ or ‘silly’ again, need I remind you that a mangy alley cat is hoping that his princess isn’t too disgusted with him to run away?”

Marinette slowly turned around and stared at Adrien. At this point, their eyes were rimmed with redness and tear stains have marred their faces. But they both lost their breath at the miraculous person in front of them. They had come this far. They can’t stop now.

“I just have one question for you.” Marinette began with a whisper as she dropped her forehead onto Adrien’s shoulder. She felt him lean his forehead on top of her head and, despite the mess running rampant inside them both, this felt…right. “D-Do you notice me because I’m Ladybug?”

Adrien was silent for a moment. Then he placed a feather light kiss where he had laid his head on hers.

“Do you notice me because I’m a model?” He whispered.

They both meet each other’s eyes again. The tears had stopped but they were still a mess. There were still things they had to fix but they were still going to make it. Because it wasn’t just about them being Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was because they were Marinette and Adrien.

This was definitely not a perfect world. But that was okay. Because they were in this imperfect world together. And that was truly miraculous.


	2. Don't Come Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has to leave. Chat Noir has taken one too many blows for her and now Hawkmoth knows who she is. If Marinette wants to protect the ones she loves, she has to do this. But how will her alley cat react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit (12/23/15): I made a slight edit on the part about Marinette's bracelet at the beginning of the chapter. You'll see why shortly. T-T

This can’t be real. This can’t be real. This can’t be real.

But it was.

Marinette couldn’t take it anymore.

When her alarm woke her up on a Saturday morning at 7 a.m., earlier than she would normally allow herself to wake up, everything was in motion. Marinette began by tearing down Adrien’s modeling posters she had bought along with the picture of the two of them smiling on their first date at the Louvre on her desk. When she turned on her computer, the bright pink wallpaper with scattered pictures of her boyfriend made Marinette’s eyes squint. Using every reserve of energy she has, Marinette forces the tears to not fall while her trembling hand manipulated the mouse to delete every picture she has of him. Including the wallpaper, which she changed to a simple blue background.

For the rest of the morning, the young heroine made a dash around her clutter-filled room to either pack her personal belongings into boxes, sort the items that Adrien had given to her over the course of them dating, and other miscellaneous things that she could either give away or toss.

What set this course of events off?

Adrien, her best friend, beloved boyfriend, and most trusted partner, Chat Noir, had taken one too many hits for her. For the past week, he had been in the hospital because of an akuma attack that consisted of a frustrated martial artist who had been cheated out of a victory by a cheap trick set out by his longtime rival. The akuma victim had agility and power to match his anger, which in hindsight was very well understood. But Marinette wasn’t paying attention when the martial artist was going to deliver a round house kick to her back while she tried to clear out lingering pedestrians from the battle.

Chat Noir did though. Just as she had cleared everyone away, Marinette suddenly found herself thrown towards the sidewalk and a loud cry of pain from her partner ringing in her ears. While she had gotten out safely and managed to cure the victim, Adrien wasn’t so lucky. The attack had connected to his stomach and an arm and a leg had been broken. According to the doctors (who had thankfully not seen his detransformation), Adrien wouldn’t be up and around for about a week at best.

So during that week, Marinette had taken the painful process of trying to figure out what to do. In between visiting Adrien as often as she could between her schoolwork and patrols, she had been wracking her brain for possible solutions for this dangerous pattern.

They couldn’t keep doing this. For the past year, it’s been on disaster after another. First, Adrien had sacrificed himself, literally getting himself KILLED, with Timebreaker. Then when Dark Cupid came around, he let himself get hit by an arrow, not knowing whether it was going to kill or curse him. And now this! At this rate, there was going to be no good news at all next time!

It didn’t help that Marinette had spotted a black akuma trailing after them after she had let her Ladybug side down while Adrien somehow remained as Chat Noir. That meant only one thing. Hawkmoth was on their tails.

That’s it. There’s not going to be a next time.

“Marinette! You can’t do this!” Tikki cried for the millionth time as Marinette fingered her bracelet that Adrien had made for her for Christmas. It was made out of a simple cord and alternating red and black beads with a little ladybug, kitty cat, and heart charm. It was also the night they had decided to seriously considered their life after (or if ever) Chat Noir and Ladybug weren’t needed.

They had decided to stay together forever.

What a naïve delusion.

“Marinette! Please think about this!” Tikki shrieked as Marinette stuffed her pillows away into another big box. “You can’t just LEAVE like this! What about Adrien?!” Tears cascaded like jewels down the tiny red kwami’s face as she helplessly watched her companion pack up her things.

“I’ve BEEN thinking about this Tikki.” Marinette mumbled, struggling to keep herself busy with duct tape and organizing her things. “Adrien, Hawkmoth, this mess, everything. I can’t let this go on.” Thrusting open another large empty box, Marinette began packing away her fabrics and various sewing materials. “Hawkmoth knows who Ladybug is and if I stay around Adrien any longer, he’s going to put two and two together. I’m not going to endanger him, my friends, or my family anymore. I’ve got to go.”

Tikki’s sobs rang out louder as Marinette threw more pictures and mementos of Adrien onto her chaise. As the pile grew larger, the more obvious it was that Adrien was a huge part of her life. He was Marinette’s inspiration to keep working with fashion when she started to doubt her abilities and he was always more than willing to let himself be her own personal model even after a long hard day of modeling for his father’s company on top of patrol. Adrien never gave up on her even when she was about to give up on herself. He was everything she could have wanted and more.

But she couldn’t afford to let herself weigh him down anymore. No more snide glares and comments from Chloe. No more disapprovals from Gabriel Agreste’s associates who made malicious comments of Gabriel using Adrien as a tool in order to groom a budding fashion designer. No more looking every which way during battle worrying about making sure that her boyfriend got home safely.

Marinette had been so engrossed in her work that she hadn’t realized that the sun had already set. She had just thrown away the last piece of trash when a black silhouette playfully tapped on her bedroom window.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was there. She had known that Adrien was getting out of the hospital today and that he had promised her yesterday that he was going to do a quick patrol around the city. He had even promised to stop by after he was done so that they could catch up and cuddle like they always did after patrols they had gone through together or separately.

Tikki bowed her head sullenly as she perched down on Marinette’s now empty desk with the computer screen still on. Marinette tried to take five deep breaths before turning around and unlocking her large window so that her catty boyfriend could sneak in. She tried not to cry as he slunk in and hugged her from behind with a low purr that always made her heart flutter.

“It’s great to finally see you again Princess.” Chat Noir purred as he snuggled into the back of Marinette’s neck like a spoiled kitten.

Marinette tried to keep her voice light and cheerful as she giggled at her kitty’s cute antics. “Quit it alley cat.” She whispered, wary of her parents who were still up and clearing the kitchen. “We saw each other yesterday at the hospital.”

Chat Noir only snuggled in further and tightened his grip as he continued purring. “Every second that I’m away from you sends me into a cat-strophic frenzy.” He trailed light kisses from the bottom of her neck to the top of her head while his cat tail swished back and forth contently. “How are you feeling?”

“I can’t complain.” Marinette responded with what she hoped was a casual tone. She didn’t want to indulge in this wonderful warmth from her dear one. She didn’t want to put on a front with him, especially after they had just recently discovered each other’s identities. They had gone through too much together to just let there be another charade between them. Intentional or not.

Marinette had just about prepared herself to break the news to Chat Noir when he surprised her with sweeping her off her feet and carrying her bridal style. She almost shrieked when he twirled them around the room as he grinned like a cat that caught a canary. He kissed her forehead, then her eyes, ears, cheeks, chin, and even along her jaw. An unwilling groan escaped Marinette’s lips when she realized that he was teasing her.

Chat Noir smirked like the Cheshire Cat when he saw her pout with his sharp night vision. His little lady was so adorable! If she had let him, Chat Noir would kiss her until his lips were sore and his makeup artist would scold him for bruised lips. It was just so magnificent to know that someone as beautiful and loving as Marinette had chosen him, of all people, to be by her side. In spite of the awful puns, misunderstandings, and sheer social clumsiness that came from being sheltered away from the world, Adrien was lucky enough to have been chosen by HER.

That was why when he closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her on perfect lips, Chat Noir was surprised when Marinette gently pressed her lithe fingers against his mouth. When Chat Noir opened his eyes, he was even more surprised when he saw tears glide down his girlfriend’s flushed face. His heart began to hammer as he held her small form closer in his arms.

“Mari? What’s wrong?” Chat Noir whispered, trying to tilt his head so that he could look directly into her eyes. He frowned when she kept turning away from his gaze. “Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

Marinette shook her head. Tears fell harder as she bit her bottom lip. Reality was so cruel. She had practiced over and over in her head what she was going to say to him while she was packing away her belongings. When the cat had come running towards her with bright eyes and a heart filled to the brim with pure love though, she had almost come undone.

But when Chat Noir turned his attention to a sniffling Tikki, Marinette knew that the damage had been done. There was no turning back when bright green eyes pierced through the dark, almost bare room. All that was left was Marinette’s empty shelves, bed, computer desk, and a chaise with all of Marinette’s mementos of Adrien. Every picture they had taken together, the gifts had given her (minus the bracelet), and even their scrape book project that they had been working on ever since they had begun dating.

Chat Noir had a sense of foreboding as his body began to tremble. He continued to hold Marinette close while trying to shake off his nervousness. Surely she was just cleaning her room. Maybe she was going to have her walls painted and she wanted to protect her pictures. And the bright blue computer screen was surely the beginnings of a new desktop wallpaper that was going to feature the two of them.

“W-What’s all this Princess?” Chat Noir began, quirking an easy going smile that was too nervous looking to be natural. “D-Doing a cleaning up? Maybe I can come by tomorrow and help you finish up? I don’t have anything on my schedule all weekend. We can even see that movie you’ve been wanting to go to.”

He was rambling and he knew it. Something wasn’t right. Tikki wasn’t supposed to be crying, Marinette wasn’t supposed to be avoiding his gaze, and Plagg shouldn’t be trying to warn him to get out of the house.

When Marinette moved out of Chat Noir’s arms towards her trapdoor and her patio though, he suddenly felt very cold. And it wasn’t due to the loss of Marinette’s usually comforting body heat. When Chat Noir followed her and tried to hold her close again, Marinette took five steps away from him and he unconsciously stretched out his arms towards her, silently beckoning her to come back.

For some reason, she felt so far away as she held herself in her own arms and kept her back towards him.

“Chat. We need to break up.”

A shattering feeling coursed throughout Chat Noir’s body. Surely he wasn’t hearing his bug right. Did she need him to break something in order to help with her cleaning? Her fashion? His puns?

Chat Noir, much like Marinette had done earlier, tried to keep his voice light and calm as he took a step closer to her. “What’s going on Marinette?” His heart twisted when he saw her take two more steps away from him. “I-Is this about what happened with the martial artist? There’s n-nothing to worry about. The d-doctors said that I was completely healed.” He forced out a little laugh and brought a shaky hand to rake through his hairs like a nervous preening cat. “P-Proves how great magic is right?”

Marinette was silent for what felt like hours. She held her hands tighter around her frame and pried open her mouth so that the awful words could come and just END this.

“This isn’t just about that time.” She swallowed. “I know that you don’t exactly remember the other times, since you weren’t completely yourself during one time and that other time was weird, but you’ve gotten into REALLY big trouble while trying to protect me. I want that to stop.”

She was startled when Chat Noir scrambled around her and crouched down on all fours so that he could see her downcast face. Marinette tried to turn away from him again but Chat Noir was quick to grasp her hands. Just like the day he did when he stopped her from running away from him that day in detention.

“That’s only because I love you. You know that, right?” Chat Noir whispered, trying to ignore the screaming in his heart and Plagg’s growing warnings. “Asking me to stop trying to protect you is like asking me to stop loving you. And that’s impossible.”

Marinette felt a sob rip through her throat and she tried to wrench her hands away from the alley cat’s strong grip. But either she subconsciously didn’t want him to release her or his hands were too strong. She couldn’t get loose.

“It’s not just that!” Tears were flowing freely now. “I don’t want anything to do with you anymore if it means that I’m going to get you killed!”

The silence was deafening. If Marinette’s parents had heard her from all the way down there, they didn’t give any indication. And if Marinette had been looking at Chat Noir, she would have been destroyed by the raw devastation and confusion on his face.

She took another deep breath as she continued.

“My papa got a job offer over in Florence, Italy. He initially wasn’t going to take it, because he didn’t want to cause any problems with my schooling and he and Mama didn’t want to take me away from my friends.” Marinette gulped as Chat Noir’s grip quivered. “But I begged him to take the job when I found out from Tikki that there was a Miraculous user named Volpina who was living there. She’s on her way right now and she’ll take my place as your partner.”

“No!” This time, Chat Noir completely enveloped her towards him and he didn’t bother masking his tears and pain. “No! Y-You can’t leave! I don’t want anyone else!” He gently ran his clawed fingers through Marinette’s messy black hair and tried to soften his head. “Isn’t there anything I can do? Anything at all? I-I’ll do whatever it takes…”

Marinette almost couldn’t bring herself to escape her broken cat’s begging arms. More than anything, she wanted to dash down the stairs, plead with her parents to not leave after all, that she had changed her mind, and that she didn’t want to leave everything and everyone that was beloved to her behind. But an image of an akuma from THAT day surfaced to her mind. Marinette shoved her hands in between them and tried to push against Chat Noir’s chest.

This wasn’t going to end well.

“Just let me go! I’m done!”

If Marinette was going to leave him, she was going to have to either make it hurt so bad that he won’t regret letting her go or she was going to have to tell him the whole story.

“Hawkmoth knows who I am! And if you stay around me, he’s going to find out who you are! Then he’ll start going after our friends and family!” Marinette kept trying to push Chat Noir away, but his grip remained tight. “And the people who are working against your father! They are saying bad things about you and him because of me! I’m doing nothing but hurting you all!”

“But it’s going to kill me if you leave!” Chat Noir cried, feeling a cold blackness sweep over him from his feet all the way up to his face. “Please! Don’t go! I can’t go back to living a life without you in it!” He swept an arm out and brought up the wrist that held Marinette’s precious handmade bracelet, his voice beginning to break down. “We…we promised that we would always be together… A-And that we would talk to each other i-if something was wrong…”

Chat Noir fell to his knees, still holding on to Marinette’s wrist with one hand while he wrapped his free arm around her waist and buried his face into her stomach.

“Please… Don’t vanish…” Like my mother… “Please don’t go…”

They were silent except for broken sobs from Chat Noir.

Finally, Marinette freed her wrist from his grip and Chat Noir heard a faint clinking sound. He felt a light weight rest in his outstretched hand as Marinette stepped away from him again. Chat Noir didn’t dare look up to see Marinette as she held herself close again and walked away towards her trap door.

“Don’t come back.” Marinette whispered one last time before sliding through her door and locking it behind her.

In Chat Noir’s hand, to his horror, was the black and red charm bracelet. The one that he had made for her as a symbol of their love and promise.

It would be some time for Chat Noir to get up from his kneeling position and head back home with a heavy, broken heart.


	3. Our Purr-fect First Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This is my Christmas contribution to the Miraculous fandom! That is if I haven't been kicked out of it because this is done. ^^; Enjoy!

*4 months ago; 1 month after they began dating*

“Oh come on! Not even one little hint?!” Adrien whined, leaning over and hugging his seated petite girlfriend’s shoulders sideways as she giggled and struggled to stitch on a green and black checkered patch on a quilt she was making. “I thought you loved me!”

Currently, they were both sitting on the white couch in the Dupain-Cheng household’s living room, soaking up the heat from their fireplace and the festive atmosphere from the bright lights and decorations on the Dupain-Cheng Christmas tree. Nearly every room in that small apartment was decked out in bright red poinsettias, tinsel, and handmade ornaments that Marinette and her parents had made over the many happy years they have had together. 

This year, since Adrien was going to be spending Christmas with his ladylove for the first time, Sabine and Tom encouraged him to take part in their family tradition.

“Since he’ll be our future son-in-law soon enough.” Sabine whispered to Tom when Adrien was out of earshot, who only chuckled while Marinette blushed like the poinsettias.

With that being said, Adrien was able to contribute by adding his own special decorations: A lopsided black cat, a heavily glittered angel with a lollipop (“It’s my Lady!”), and even some gingerbread cookies he dared to make himself (whatever hadn’t been burnt were either eaten with care or converted into rock hard ornaments).

Needless to say, it was a purr-fect way to start a beautiful tradition that Adrien hopes he’ll be able to be a part of for the rest of his life. Except for a couple teeny tiny things: He wasn’t finished with his present for the love of his life and said love of his life won’t give him any hints about what she’ll give him for Christmas.

Why must she be as adorable as she was cruel?

Marinette giggled and quickly kissed her boyfriend’s cheek before turning back to her quilt.

“You know the rules kitty. No spoilers.” She said with a small smile, enjoying the mock pain on her other half. “Besides, you won’t give me any hints about what present you’re getting me.”

“That’s because it’s not finished yet.” Adrien mumbled as he puffed out his cheeks and subtly pulled out his secret weapon: The big, cute kitty cat eyes that he knows will absolutely melt her heart. “I want to make sure that I get as much love in it as I can.”

Unfortunately for him, the look had no effect on Marinette as she shifted her focus to her quilt. Well this alley cat wasn’t going to take this sitting down.

Marinette let out a little shriek when she felt feather light touches on her ribs. She could only throw a quick glance at Adrien’s mischievous smile before she succumbed to his onslaught of ticklish attacks. The quilt that she had been working on for a solid week found its home on the floor as Marinette reached towards Adrien for sweet revenge, which she was soon awarded with a loud “Nyah!” before it was all out war.

This felt like a dream to them really. Never had they imagined that they would one day be in this situation: utterly surrounded by a warm love that they had only dared to wish would happen. Chat Noir was finally able show his Lady that his heart was truly and fully hers despite his flirtatious mannerisms and Marinette was able to open her own heart and realize that a flawed reality was truly better than a perfect far off fantasy.

How was it possible for this happiness to be real? Surely this was just a dream. One day they will wake up and Adrien would once again be pining after his heart’s holder while being a shell of a person he was forced to play while Marinette’s spirits would crush every time she was so close and yet so far away from her prince. That was a very scary thought for both of them.

But, as fortune would have it, this was no dream. And Marinette and Adrien were grateful for every second of this imperfectly perfect reality.

Five minutes had passed and the two of them were sprawled out on the floor with dopey grins on their red faces, their cheeks pressed against each other’s and they gazed into the other’s upside down faces. They entwined their fingers together, which had become a regular habit for them after they began dating in memory of that fateful day in detention. Who knew that getting in trouble for being behind in class helped them get on the same page with each other?

Adrien smiled softly as he planted a chaste kiss on Marinette’s forehead.

“Not even one little hint?” He pleaded one last time in a whisper.

Marinette smiled back and scrunched her nose.

“Only if you give me one first kitty.” She whispered back, her deep blue eyes sparkling in the fireplace’s glow. Marinette noted the way that the fire made shadows dance across her boyfriend’s model perfect features while it illuminated the natural glow in his tender eyes. She almost giggled when she saw how a particular shadow made it look like he was wearing a black mask. All that was missing were the ears.

Adrien hummed and twirled one of her pigtails absentmindedly.

“It’s handmade. And made with lots of love and care.” Adrien whispered as he turned to rest on his left side while Marinette copied him to lay on her left side as well. “And I can’t wait to give it to you tonight.”

“Tonight?” Marinette asked, quirking her head. “But Adrien, it’s only Christmas Eve.”

He just shrugged and kissed her nose.

“Like I said, I can’t wait any longer.” Adrien stroked the top of her head as he continued. “I know that you would be fine with anything I bought you, but I couldn’t find anything in a store that could get the right message across.” He paused to place a small kiss on her light pink lips. “I just wanted to do something to show you how much I love you. And, to me, nothing says it better than making something with my own hands. Like you do every day with what you love.” He shrugged again with a catty glint in his eyes. “Besides, when midnight strikes, it’ll be Christmas anyway.”

Dark pink dusted Marinette’s cheeks as she continued to look into Adrien’s deeply sincere green eyes. If anyone accused this guy of not being a prince, cat ears or not, they will be getting a special visit from Ladybug. Which won’t end up being their lucky day.

She planted her own quick kiss on Adrien’s lips and felt her heart stutter like it did every time Marinette managed to initiate the simplest kisses.

“Great minds think alike.” She whispered, smiling wider at Adrien’s slightly confused gaze. “My gift is handmade too.”

Adrien’s smile was brighter than the fire in the furnace as he drew them both up and wrapped his arms around Marinette’s waist and brought her in for another kiss. At first it was just one, two, three light pecks. Then the kiss lasted for 5, 10, 20 seconds. Then, as Marinette scooted up to sit on her alley cat’s lap and Adrien kept one arm firmly around her waist and his free arm combing through her hair and making her pigtails slightly come loose, the kiss deepened and they forgot the rest of the world. 

Because, really, they were each other’s world.

But their bliss was short lived when they heard a slight squeak from the living room doorway. The duo quickly pulled back from each other and stared up in blazing embarrassment and horror when they saw a red faced Sabine holding back a squeal and tapping her feet much like Marinette did when she was anxious or excited.

“Tom! It’s time to start planning a wedding cake!” Sabine sang as she spun around on her heels towards her husband as soon as he walked out of the kitchen. 

At first, he only looked at his small wife in complete confusion. A split second later, his eyes widened as he snapped his head to see his baby girl hurrying to get off her new boyfriend’s lap, both of whom were still blushing and kept their eyes anywhere but on each other or them.

At the sight of this, Tom wanted to march in there and be the loving, protective father who only wanted to take good care of his sweet little angel while giving a stern glare to her boyfriend, even if he was polite and well-meaning. But Sabine only lightly wrapped her petite arms around her doting husband’s waist from behind, allowing the two teenagers to awkwardly rush to their feet as they ran past them towards the door. Tom, who couldn’t fight against his own beloved wife and her beautiful eyes and warm smile, sighed fondly as he turned towards the retreating couple.

Watching the two of them say goodbye to each other was heartwarming, even if they were still stammering from the encounter. Adrien was tugging on his favorite blue scarf and his winter coat while Marinette handed him black leather gloves that she had made for him not too long ago. Despite the weird situation they had gotten themselves into, the young couple continued to smile at each other.

Finally, when they kissed one last time before Adrien walked outside towards his limo, Tom sighed again and shook his head as he wrapped his larger arms around his wife.

“We’ll be sure to make it on the house for your wedding!” Tom shouted with a smile while his daughter and her boyfriend sputtered out inarticulate words as their blushes deepened (if that was possible).

Sabine laughed and stepped towards the door with her husband in tow.

“Don’t forget! Be here by 10 tomorrow! We’ll try not to open any presents without you!” She teased before Adrien’s driver closed the limo’s door, noting how Adrien’s worried eyes softened with relief as he nodded with excitement.

***

Just as he promised, Adrien, as Chat Noir, returned at midnight, making a quiet thump as he nimbly landed on Marinette’s balcony. In his shaking claws, he clutched a small velvet box and took several deep breaths before tapping three times on her trapdoor window. With the aid of his heightened hearing courtesy of Plagg, Chat Noir could hear his princess squeak as she ran around the room and making rustling noises.

“Time your time Princess!” Chat Noir trilled to her, snickering when he imagined how flustered she must have been acting according to her hurried footsteps.

A couple seconds later though, Marinette, looking slightly out of breath and disheveled, opened the hatch and moved aside so that her feline could crawl in. 

Chat Noir took great care to land on his back so that his dirty shoes wouldn’t ruin her bed, even though it was already a mess in and of itself since she had neglected to make it earlier that morning. He carefully hid his present behind his back with one hand before leaning forward and placing a kiss on both of Marinette’s cheeks and her forehead, who had sat down next to him after closing her window.

“Merry Christmas Mon Cheri.” He whispered, mindful to not wake her parents and risk another scary episode which would probably either a.) Ban him from coming over for the Christmas party, b.) Ban him from dating his princess, and/or c.) Let the cat out of the bag in regards to their superhero identities. If even ONE of those things happened, Chat Noir wouldn’t know how to cope.

However, even if only option c occurred on any time or occasion, he knew that they would be able to get through it if they stuck together through thick and thin. Chat Noir prayed and wished from the bottom of his heart that it would never happen.

But, as far as Chat Noir was concerned, it was never going to happen and everything was going to be fine. Right now, there were more important things to take care of.

“Would you like to go first or do you want me to?” Marinette whispered, also thinking about the consequences if they were caught. She was grateful that things have been somewhat peaceful around Paris, especially since the holidays didn’t exactly bring bright hopes and cheers to everyone. Either Hawkmoth couldn’t find a suitable victim or he was enjoying the holidays too much to care about the Miraculous for once.

“As they say, ladies first.” Chat Noir winked and brought out his present from behind his back. “To be spoiled of course.”

Marinette’s eyes crinkled as she smiled and slowly reached out for her present. She ran her thumbs over the velvet softness of the box prior to opening it, revealing a bracelet with alternating black and red beads, and three little charms, a smiling cat, a rhinestone ladybug, and a heart that was black on one side and white on the other. The knot that he had made (whilst a little clumsy) was able to be manipulated so that Marinette could adjust the size of the bracelet to suit her.

Tears began to fall down her face as Marinette felt her heart swell. It was the most precious gift that anyone had ever given her. Something handmade, every sweet and loving thought and every move used to make this, was something that was irreplaceable. Not even Chloe’s posh jewelry could come close.

“T-Thank you…” Marinette whispered as tears continued to fall down, some actually landing on her bed.

Chat Noir felt his own heart swell as he took the bracelet between his fingers and gingerly slide it on Marinette’s waiting right wrist. He carefully helped her adjust the bracelet’s size until it was just right and sealed the distance between them with a gentle kiss, cupping her face closer to him.

Like the kiss they had earlier that day, a tender fire brought the two closer together and they once again could not believe that this was their reality. There were no more secrets or masks between them. They didn’t have to act for anybody and they didn’t have to lie to each other.

They had both once been lost in their dreams. Now they are moving towards their reality, which was more delightful and frightening than any yearned after dream or unrequited love could ever be.

“Mari…” Chat Noir breathed out after breaking the kiss, chuckling a little at the dazed look in his princess’s eyes and sliding his hands down from her cheeks to her hands, delighting in how the bracelet sparkles in the moon’s light. “We need to make a promise. Right now.”

Marinette shook her head a little to bring her back to focus on her kitty cat.

“What kind of promise?” She asked, tilting her head.

Chat Noir fought to keep his heart steady as he recalled the events that led them to where they are now. The traumatic revelations of their identities. Marinette running away from him. Him chasing after her. Fear that he would lose her forever if he didn’t stop her from dashing out of detention.

He honestly thought that he was going to lose her. That couldn’t happen. Ever. The mere whisper of that possibility was enough to shake his spirits and make his heart tremble. Which is why they have to do this now.

“We have to promise that no matter what happens, we will talk to each other. About anything and everything.” Chat Noir began, keeping his gaze firmly on Marinette’s wide eyes. “If there is something bothering us, even if it’s trivial, we will set aside a time to be able to talk and take care of the problem. Even if it’s just to vent. Also, if one of us is in danger, which is inevitable, we will make sure to call the other.”

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Marinette’s.

“And if you ever feel hurt and you want to run away, you know how to reach me in and out of costume. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the middle of a photo shoot, patrol, or school. You can call me at 3 in the morning for all I care.” He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on her smaller hands. “No matter what, I’m always here for you.”

Marinette snuck her hands out of Chat Noir’s grasp, leaned closer to him, and swept her arms around his back. The momentum sent the two of them tumbling gently down onto Marinette’s bed.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Chat Noir was a little stunned to say the least. He couldn’t see his lady’s face and her grip on him shook, as if she was afraid of something. Gradually though, his shock faded away and he felt his face soften as he wrapped his own arms around Marinette, rubbing her back with one hand.

The present that she had for him could wait. Right now, all he wanted to do was hold his greatest treasure in his arms and never let her go.

“I promise.” She whispered.

4 months later…that promise was broken as Adrien cradled the bracelet in his hands as tears cascaded down his face in his monochrome home prison.

“Why?”

That was the only thing that could come out of his mouth as Plagg helplessly watched his cherished companion fall apart, knowing all too well the sting of losing the one you love with too many questions, not enough answers, and very little warning.

“Why?”


	4. We've Got To Do Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I tried to get this up yesterday, but something weird happened to my flashdrive and I lost all of my work on it, including the previous draft of this chapter. But thankfully most of the notes I've written down are in my journal and all of the fanfiction that I made for this fandom is already on here so it wasn't a HUGE deal. In fact, I actually like this version better than the previous one.
> 
> Enjoy! ^^

When the lunch bell rang, Alya and Nino threw everything into their bags and tore out of the classroom.

“Alright!” Alya shouted as she began to run towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery that had the “SOLD” sign on it while Nino looked over his shoulder. “Do what you’ve got to do! MAKE him come out!”

Nino gave her a firm nod, adjusted his cap, and ran towards the Agreste mansion. Alya flipped her long red highlight hair behind her shoulders and she continued to hustle towards the shop. 

This wasn’t going to be pretty.

***

For three whole days, Adrien hasn’t shown up for school. According to the principal, he explained that the model was just doing some emergency photoshoots for the upcoming summer collection and that he had been given express permission to make up for whatever he missed later with the help of his tutors.

Now, there was something fishy about this.

First off, if Adrien was going to have an “emergency photoshoot”, Nino would have received SOME kind of text from his best friend, asking him for copies of homework, notes, and even to fill him in on what was going on while he was gone. He hadn’t contacted Nino even once. No matter how many times Nino texted, called, or left voicemails.

Second, no matter what happened, Adrien would rather run away from home and live with Nino (which Nino had offered several times) than go back to living a sheltered life sentence and allow himself to not take part in the freedom that he had fought so hard for.

Finally, Marinette didn’t ask about Adrien’s whereabouts. In fact, she hardly said a single word at all ever since Wednesday. She even returned to her original seat next to Alya instead of sitting at the front with Adrien, which they had done ever since they began dating.

“I wonder if they broke up.” Chloe sneered towards Sabrina, more than visibly enjoying the look of a downcast Marinette and the evident avoidance that she gave to the desk they used to sit in together. “I guess Adrikins came to his senses and told her to get lost.” She shrugs with mock pity and grins predatorily. “Guess I’ve won after all.”

Okay.

In the past, Chloe had said a lot of mean, even cruel things that had caused many over the past while to fall victim to the akuma. It was a wonder that Alya hadn’t already done something in retaliation was because Marinette told her that it wasn’t worth the effort and that she would get in trouble with the mayor himself.

That did it though.

Alya was going to show that prissy brat who was boss.

But, before the Friday morning school bell rang, it was Sabrina who surprised everyone.

“You haven’t won anything.” She said as she glared at her supposed “best friend”, who looked at her with owlish eyes. Sabrina then gathered her things, stood up, and moved to sit at the empty seat next to an awestruck Nino.

Red faced and grimacing, Chloe rose from her own chair and stalked towards Sabrina, ready to put her back in her place.

Before she could utter one word though, Nino, Alya, and the rest of the class formed a protective circle around the girl with Marinette standing right in front of her, returning Chloe’s glare with a look that said, “I’ve got nothing to lose, so bring it.”

This was a first. Chloe had seen Marinette stand up for herself and a classmate before. But she’d never seen Marinette look so…angry. Maybe it was because Adrien wasn’t there to help influence Marinette in softening her blows a bit. Maybe it was because Sabrina had finally had enough.

Or maybe…she really didn’t have anything to lose.

For a moment, Chloe thought with a startle, that this commoner, this girl she shouldn’t have had to compete for Adrien’s affections with, reminded her starkly of her black spotted idol.

The school bell rang out and the teacher walked in, quirking an eyebrow at the students’ still standing guard over Sabrina.

“Everyone, sit down.” She said with a sigh. It was too early in the morning to have to deal with the kind of drama she knew was going to be stirring today.

Especially with a little announcement that was going to be made before lessons began.

Thank goodness she had her coffee.

When the students were sure that a stunned Chloe was back in her lone desk and that she wasn’t going to go after Sabrina, they all went back to their own desks and pulled out their notebooks.

“Before we begin with our lessons today,” the teacher began. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng has a little announcement for you all.” She nodded towards Marinette, who sighed resignedly and nodded back.

Marinette pushed her chair out, stood up, pushed it back in, and walked towards the front of the room with a hammering heart.

She had to do this. She had to do this. She had to do this.

It probably would have been a better idea to have told Alya first before this happened though. But Marinette was ready to brace for the storm that was going to come. It couldn’t get much worse than it did that night when she broke her kitty’s precious heart. And her own.

Marinette stopped in front of the teacher’s desk, took a deep breath, and turned around to face a confused classroom. She tried to ignore Alya’s quirked eyebrow and Chloe’s daggers.

“Hi everyone.” Marinette began with an uneasy smile. This was so much easier when she was running for class president. “U-Um…”

Just say it, Marinette heard her inner voice say. You’ve already done enough damage. Just finish it.

“My papa’s been given a new job position in Florence, Italy.” Marinette began again, wincing a little at the small collective gasp and murmurs from her classmates. “Just a few days ago, my parents were able to sell the bakery to another person who plans to open his own bakery there, so no one needs to worry about losing one.” She tried to say with a small, strangled laugh and a tight smile.

But no one was laughing or smiling. Although Chloe raised her eyebrows as her lips formed an “o”.

Taking another deep breath, Marinette was ready to deliver the final blow.

“This is my last day in class. Tomorrow night, my family and I are moving to Italy.”

Silence.

“WHAT?!” Alya screeched, jolting up from her chair and sending it tumbling to the ground with a loud clatter.

***

Needless to say, Marinette and Alya didn’t speak to each other during the morning school session.

To make matters worse, Chloe, forgetting the fact that she’d been told off by the whole class earlier, held herself up like she was the queen of Paris. As if she was the reason Marinette was leaving. Like she finally had a chance with Adrien.

If only she knew that she never would. Because, back at the monochrome mansion, the young model wasn’t busy with photoshoots or anything. He was wearing his handmade bracelet and pacing the room back and forth like a caged panther, running his hands through his messy hair.

“Adrien.” Plagg sighed from his place on Adrien’s large computer desk, not even touching the camembert cheese that he normally relished in. “Stop beating yourself up over this. It was a mistake. Marinette’s just overreacting.”

“But she didn’t even talk to me!” Adrien yelled, flopping down on his unmade bed. “I told her that I would be there for her if she needed me, even if it was 3 in the morning! We promised that we would talk to each other if something happened! And then…this!”

Plagg shook his head. Adrien was more than justified in his anger. He just hoped that his charge wouldn’t let his emotions get the better of him. For right now though, Plagg will let him vent.

“I love her!” Adrien continued, feeling hot tears pour down his face as he sat up and pressed his elbows against his knees and thrust his face into the palms of his hands, muffling his voice. “And I know that she loves me! We’ve been through so much! Fought through so much! I almost lost her when I found out who she was! And now I’m losing her because she thinks one of Hawkmoth’s akumas saw her detransform! And we don’t even know if they can see us!”

Plagg stayed silent.

“They can’t can they?!” Adrien shouted, clearly indicating that Plagg provide him with an answer. Any answer.

Plagg bit his lower lip.

“They are able to sense the strong negative energy from the victim that Hawkmoth chooses. And I know that they help Hawkmoth look through their eyes during a battle.” The little black cat kwami crossed his arms. “But Hawkmoth’s vision is limited to what he sees through the victim. And once a butterfly, or an insect in general is purified by Tikki’s light, they are immune from further influence. They can’t do much else before they get to the victim or after they leave.”

Adrien lifted his face from his hands and stared at Plagg with bloodshot eyes.

“Doesn’t Marinette know that? Didn’t Tikki tell her?” He whispered, hope brimming in his heart.

Maybe, if Marinette’s identity wasn’t in danger after all, then there may still be a chance at fixing this.

This can still work!

Adrien felt a smile grow on his face and he was already bouncing off his bed, opening his window, and holding his ring before Plagg whispered.

“It isn’t just about that.”

The model paused and stared at the kwami. Plagg avoided Adrien’s gaze by bowing his head and fingering the china dish that held his favorite treat.

“If that was the only problem, then this whole thing can be solved right and dandy.”

Adrien cellphone came alive with Nino’s customized ringtone.

“But it’s not.” Plagg finished, having a premonition creeping through him as he gestured for Adrien to finally answer Nino’s calls after ignoring frantic voicemails and texts.

When Adrien frowned at his kwami’s strange behavior, he braced himself for the inevitable tirade of worry from his best friend. He finally answered his cellphone after three days, having hoped against hope that he would be able to catch a message from his princess without anyone interrupting them.

No such luck. Typical.

“Dude?! Where are you?! Tell me you’re at the mansion because I’m out here looking like an idiot in front of this huge gorilla dude who looks like he’s going to eat me because I’m trying to get you to talk to me and DUDE JUST LOOK OUT YOUR WINDOW I CAN IT OPEN!”

Adrien drew his cellphone away with a wince and leapt towards his open window. Sure enough, there was Nino with one free arm flailing around past the hulking size of Gorilla, Adrien’s loyal limo driver/bodyguard (not that he needed one thanks to Plagg), and jumping up and down like a monkey.

“Hold on.” Adrien managed to say after he finally stopped staring at the weirdness that was his best friend.

“WELL HURRY UP! IT’S ABOUT MARINETTE!” Nino’s voice yelled through the cellphone receiver.

Okay. Now Adrien was REALLY listening.

He was running throughout the mansion and burst through the doors of the oversized house. The long path between the gate and the house was almost torture. Really. Did they really need that?

Adrien couldn’t get to the gates fast enough. He nearly slammed into the wrought iron structure before Gorilla, in his quick thinking, grunted for his young master to stop. But Adrien was already using his agility and strength that he thought he only had when he was Chat Noir. Maybe he was still a cat even when he was powered down.

Gorilla nearly fainted when he saw, for the first time, that his young master vaulted over the gate. No way did his personal trainer give him this kind of conditioning. He was only supposed to help Adrien upkeep his muscle tone and general physic. Not this.

Nino on the other hand was too distraught by what he had to tell his best friend. When Adrien touched down on his hands and feet (what was he, a cat?) and straightened up, Nino grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard.

“DUDE!” Nino bellowed out, his glasses almost falling off his face. “MARINETTE’S LEAVING! FOR ITALY! TOMORROW NIGHT! WE’VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING!”

Meanwhile, Alya was getting ready for her own battle.


	5. You Owe Him This Much

Alya didn’t even bother calling or texting Marinette before storming into the bakery. She didn’t even pause to greet a startled Sabine as she all but ran up the familiar stair steps to Marinette’s room.

Sabine winced when she heard the door slam open and was about to head towards the girls in an attempt to somehow make things right between them. To somehow make things better with the right words and actions that will surely keep the peace within the friendship that she knew her only child treasured. But when the strong, gentle hands of her husband, Tom, halted her steps, she didn’t need to turn around to see his expression or understand what he was trying to say.

There was nothing they could do. Right now, they have to let Marinette fight her own battle. And they knew that this was going to be one heck of a battle.

“Okay! Explain!” They heard Alya yell from where they stood in the nearly bare kitchen downstairs.

***

Marinette had already seen her coming. No sooner had she taken the sandwich that her mom had made for her up in her room, Marinette had watched with a heavy and anxious heart as Alya and Nino split up at the school gates. She knew where Nino was going. She also prayed that he wasn’t bringing company with him.

By the time Marinette had finished taking her last bite and drunk her water, Alya had slammed open her door and climbed into her room.

_Here we go._ Marinette thought.

“Okay! Explain!” Alya was almost visibly steaming as she stopped in front of Marinette’s spot on her chaise, ignoring her movements as Marinette set aside her plate and glass underneath the furniture. “First, you break up with the guy you’ve been running after for the past year and now you’re moving to ITALY?! Without even telling your best friend?! What the heck girl?! What! The! HECK!”

Marinette couldn’t help but lean back at the fury that Alya was radiating. She knew she should have told her. What was she thinking? Oh yeah. She was still trying to pick up the pieces that had fallen when she had broken up with Adrien and the thought hadn’t even occurred to her to call Alya.

But it’s been done. And now Marinette has to face the music and tell Alya the truth. The complete truth.

“Look, it’s complicated.” Marinette whispered, fishing for the right words to say. This wasn’t something that could just be swept under the rug like she normally did after taking off her spots. “Just…let me explain.”

Alya, noting the distraught look in her best friend’s eyes, sighed, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. At least she wasn’t trying to escape. That’s progress.

“That’s all I want.” Alya said slowly, turning to sit down next to Marinette on the chaise. “I mean…” She swallows back a sob, something that she had been doing when she heard that Mari was leaving. The girl she had practically known and loved all her life. Practically her little sister. “There’s got to be a reason. You love this place too much to just up and leave without one.”

Home was here. Memories were here. Adrien was here. Marinette’s whole life was here. What could possibly make her leave?

Marinette barely managed to hold back her own tears and took a deep breath.

“I have to protect Adrien.” She whispered, drawing her legs up, wrapping her arms around her shins, and leaning her forehead against her knees. “And I can’t do that so long as I am here in Paris.”

Alya raised an eyebrow. What did she mean? How was she protecting Adrien by breaking up with him and leaving Paris? This doesn’t make any sense unless Adrien was being stalked by ravenous fangirls and they didn’t like the idea of the dreamy model having a girlfriend, making their fantasies of him being their boyfriend out of reach. But even then, Alya’s seen Marinette stand up to Chloe more times than she can count. And she’s the worst of them all.

So…maybe…

“Is it because you’re Ladybug?” Alya guessed with a soft voice, fearing for the worst. “And…I was right in guessing that Adrien was Chat Noir?”

When Marinette stared at her with tears pooling down her face, Alya knew that she had hit the mark.

“I…” Marinette began, her shoulders quivering and tears spilling freely down her face. “I’m going to get him killed if I stay here! I can’t bear that!”

The half-Chinese teen buried her face in her knees again and cried her heart out, finally allowing the words flow through her.

“I’m afraid of ruining his father’s reputation because people say that he’s trying to groom me to work for him in the future! That he’s using his own son to his advantage! And I’m afraid that Hawkmoth is going to find out Adrien’s identity because I was stupid enough to lose my mask after a battle ended! And I’m afraid that he’s going to risk his life again because of my stupid mistakes!”

Marinette took a deep breath and just allowed herself to cry.

She said it. She couldn’t take it anymore. Just simply existing was enough to put Adrien’s life and future possibilities in danger. Even if these thoughts were being blown out of proportion to an outsider’s point of view, just the thought of Adrien dying or getting hurt was terrifying to her.

The room hung in silence for several minutes. Marinette’s sobs slowly died down until she was spent. Alya, in a stunned silence, took everything in with wide eyes and a heart that bled for her.

She gulped, took off her glasses, wiped her misting eyes, and placed her glasses back on her face.

“Tell me the whole story. From the top.” Alya was kind of proud on how strong her voice sounded. If there was one thing that Marinette needed, it wasn’t Alya falling apart at the seams. She had to be strong for just a little while longer. She can let herself cry later.

She listened as Marinette told Alya how she and Adrien had finished fighting the marital artist and how she had lost her transformation after curing him. She told her about seeing a black butterfly and fearing that Hawkmoth knew about her identity and how he may be able to figure out Chat Noir’s identity if she hung around Adrien too much. Everything just spiraled out of control.

“And that’s not even half of it.” Marinette said, wincing when her voice came out hoarse. “Even before that, I tried to talk to Adrien a million times about him being risky and almost getting himself killed in the middle of battle. But he would always brush it off and say that it’s only because he loves me that he would risk his life for me.” She jumped up from her chaise and began pacing. “I mean, HE’S the one who told me that we have to talk to each other whenever we’re afraid of something or if we’ve got to get something off our chest! Even if he was in the middle of something or if it was in the middle of the night! And here I was doing just that and he practically brushes it off!”

Marinette stops her pacing and spins to glare at Alya, who listened with patient and open ears.

“He’s being a hypocrite! I’ve been trying to keep our promise and he won’t even let us come to a compromise! I mean, I’ve always tried to find ways to keep us BOTH alive during a battle but he’s only focused on getting ONE of us out alive and it’s not him!” Marinette paused to take a breath. “I didn’t WANT to break up with him! This is killing me too! But if me being around means him not taking care of himself during battle then maybe Ladybug and Chat Noir shouldn’t be fighting together!”

Marinette, after finally allowing what she wanted to say out into the air, slumped down to her bare floor and let out a big breath.

“I can’t do it Alya.” She said after some time. “It’s bad enough that I’m paranoid about our identities and lying to my best friend and my parents about me being Ladybug.” She shook her head. “But Adrien’s too precious to me now. I’d rather break up with him than let himself get killed. How would I be able to live with myself? How would Mr. Agreste feel if he loses his only son after losing his wife?”

Alya could feel for Marinette. She really could. And it made sense. If Marinette hadn’t tried to talk to Adrien about this heavy subject before, then Alya would probably have been less understanding. But when one partner in a relationship was uneasy and they couldn’t catch an even standing with their partner, then things were bound to get rocky. And if things weren’t resolved, there was going to be a mess.

And Alya didn’t know how to fix this one. Even if she did, Marinette was still leaving tomorrow night. How was she going to be able to fight that? Track down the buyer and try to convince them to back out of buying the bakery?

She sighed and glanced at the pale blue photo album on Marinette’s computer desk. It was open to the photo of Adrien and Marinette’s first movie night as a couple with Nino in the background and eating some buttered popcorn. Alya had taken the picture herself. Everyone was smiling so big that night that no one could have possibly seen this happening.

They probably even all missed the storm that was brewing inside Marinette the more Adrien tried to brush the subject of his reckless, yet love filled, behavior off.

C’mon. This is Adrien. The guy who could still call Chloe somewhat a friend despite her mean behavior to his classmates and his girlfriend (Alya refused to refer to them as ex’s). This was the guy who would put himself last so that he could help his dad through the rough times when he lost his wife. The guy who never harassed for Ladybug’s identity and went out of his way to respect her boundaries.

It wasn’t like Adrien wasn’t mindful of Marinette’s worries. He just couldn’t help it. Love made him do crazy things and crazy things meant putting his lady, his princess, above his own safety.

But Alya could see Marinette’s point. Even if the two of them weren’t going out, if Chat Noir was out of the picture, who would be there for Ladybug? Who would be there to tell her lame puns and watch her back and let her know that everything was going to be okay? Even if the Eiffel Tower was collapsing, or if the Mona Lisa was destroyed, or even if all of Paris was under siege, Ladybug knew that all she had to do was look over her shoulder and know that her kitty was there.

And if she lost him?

Alya sighed and stared at Marinette as she stood up and walked towards the photo album, closing it and bringing it up to her chest.

“Even if Hawkmoth didn’t know my identity and even if Mr. Agreste can care less about what anyone says about me and Adrien,” Marinette began, walking back towards Alya and sitting down next to her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to Adrien because of me.”

The young fashion designer glides the tip of her right pointer finger along with delicate lace that decorated the edges of the album and stares at the frontal vintage picture of the Eiffel Tower.

“I don’t even think I can take this with me.” She gestured towards the book. “It holds too many memories and I don’t want to keep second guessing myself.”

The girls were silent as they both stared at the album. Then Alya turned her eyes and felt the fire that she had earlier that day die away when she saw the torn look on Marinette’s face.

She still didn’t like the fact that Marinette didn’t tell her what was going on sooner. She didn’t even like the fact that Marinette had kept the secret of her being Ladybug for so long, although she took part of the blame for risking her identity with the Ladyblog in the first place.

Alya placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Then…maybe you can leave it with Adrien?” She suggested, feeling Marinette wince at the mention of his name.

“Wouldn’t that be too cruel though?” Marinette mumbled, gripping the album tighter. “Leaving behind a reminder of what we had?”

Alya fought back the urge to roll her eyes. But she couldn’t hold back the slight burn at came out of her mouth.

“And it wasn’t cruel to just up and leave everyone with barely a warning?” She bit out. When she saw Marinette tear up again though, she immediately regretted her tone, but not the hurt that she felt. “Look, Mari.” She tried again with a softer voice. “It just…hurts that you’re leaving. Okay? No one wants you to leave, besides Chloe of course. And what would Paris be without their dynamic duo? And who’s going to help Chat Noir protect this place? This country is too big for one hero to defend by himself. No matter what the comics or cartoons will try to tell you.”

Marinette nodded and dried her tears.

“I’ve already thought of that.” She began. “Thanks to some help from my kwami, who helps me turn into Ladybug, I was able to reach another hero named Volpina. She’s actually from Italy and I told her that I wouldn’t be able to protect Paris anymore and Chat Noir will need a new partner to help him. She actually has the ability to store the akuma in her kwami and use its agility to bring it over to me in Italy.”

Alya shook her head and frowned.

“Okay, so even if one part of the problem’s solved, when is she supposed to show up? A week after you leave? What if Paris is attacked before she arrives and you’re long gone?”

As if on cue, a huge explosion sounded out from outside. Alya and Marinette sprang up from the chaise, photo album tossed onto the computer desk, and looked out the window.

A giant girl with long red braids and large glasses clutched a book and was mumbling out a story of how monkeys were roaming the city in order to escape a circus. Immediately, monkeys began to run around the streets and people were screaming as they fled for the nearest shelter. Apparently this bookworm had the ability to bring to life whatever she read in a book.

_This’ll be an interesting story._ Marinette thought, feeling a bitter taste in her stomach when she imagined how Adrien would have been proud at her making a silly pun.

_“Guess I’m rubbing off on you, right Bugaboo?”_

It didn’t help when she saw a familiar black clad figure leap into the battle as Nino ran to find his own shelter.

Alya patted Marinette’s back, urging her to join him.

“C’mon Mari. You owe him this much.”

Marinette knew that there was going to be disharmony in their battle. She knew there was going to be chaos. She even knew that it was going to get ugly after the fight was over. But, at the end of the day, she was Ladybug. And she couldn’t avoid everything.


End file.
